A Portuguese man who took “the law into his own hands” by driving his car at a group of teenagers outside McDonald's in Yarmouth was jailed for four months yesterday (Thursday).

A Portuguese man who took “the law into his own hands” by driving his car at a group of teenagers outside McDonald's in Yarmouth was jailed for four months yesterday (Thursday).

Judge Paul Downes, sitting at Norwich Crown Court, told 24-year-old Victor Pereira it was “a mercy someone was not killed” in the incident which happened at Market Gates.

CCTV footage shows Pereira twice going on to the pavement, scattering the teenagers and striking a girl and a boy in the legs before driving off.

The court heard Pereira's younger brother had told him he had been assaulted by someone outside the shop.

Ian James, for Pereira, who admitted dangerous driving, said he had been in this country for a number of years and ran his own business.

“He has endured a great deal of provocation himself but has never behaved in this way before,” he said.

“He knows what he did was entirely unjustified. He had had a call from his younger brother and his friend and one of them had a broken nose and was covered in blood.”

Jailing him for four months and disqualifying him from driving for 12 months, Judge Downes said: “There might have been provocation but in this country you are not allowed to take the law into your own hands. You might get the wrong person. I could see you were horrified yourself by your own actions when you saw the video in court, narrowly missing people on your first run and then driving the second time at a group of teenagers, knocking two people over.